CN112005280A - Commodity storage rack and commodity storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

The commodity storage rack (11) comprises: a plurality of commodity storage lanes (14), wherein the commodity storage lanes (14) store commodities in a linear commodity storage passage (14a) in a manner that the commodities are arranged in a row along the extending direction of the commodity storage passage (14 a); and a delivery mechanism (20) which is provided for each commodity storage lane (14) and which delivers, when driven, the most downstream commodity, which is disposed at the position on the most downstream side, of the commodities stored in the corresponding commodity storage path (14a), from the commodity storage path (14a), the commodity storage lanes (14) being arranged side by side, the commodity storage rack (11) comprising: a driving force imparting means for imparting a common driving force for operating the delivery mechanisms (20); and a driving force transmission member that transmits the driving force of the driving force imparting member only to the corresponding delivery mechanism (20) when a delivery instruction to deliver a commodity stored in an arbitrary commodity storage lane (14) is received.

Description

Commodity storage rack and commodity storage device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a commodity storage rack and a commodity storage device, and more particularly, to a commodity storage rack and a commodity storage device applied to, for example, an automatic vending machine that sells a beverage or the like contained in a container such as a can or a PET bottle as a commodity.

Background

Conventionally, as a vending machine that sells, as a commodity, a beverage or the like loaded into a container such as a can or a PET bottle, there is known a vending machine including a commodity storage rack called a so-called tilting rack.

The commodity storage rack is formed by arranging a plurality of commodity storage goods channels along the vertical direction, the commodity storage goods channels are used for storing commodities in a horizontal posture in a row in a commodity storage passage extending in an inclined mode gradually becoming lower from the upstream side to the downstream side, and each commodity storage goods channel is provided with a 1 st stopping component, a 2 nd stopping component and a linkage component.

The 1 st stopper member is disposed so as to be swingable in a state of being advanced and retracted relative to the commodity-accommodating passage. The 1 st stopper member abuts against the commodity on the most downstream side when the commodity enters the commodity storage passage and restricts the commodity from being dispensed, and the 1 st stopper member allows the commodity to be dispensed when the commodity is retreated from the commodity storage passage. The 2 nd stopper member is disposed so as to be swingable in a state of being advanced and retracted relative to the commodity-accommodating passage. The 2 nd stopper member abuts against the 2 nd commodity from the most downstream side to restrict the movement of the commodity to the downstream side when the commodity enters the commodity storage passage and moves into the commodity storage passage, and allows the movement of the commodity when the commodity exits the commodity storage passage.

The interlocking member is a member that interlocks the 1 st stopper member and the 2 nd stopper member, and is disposed so as to be capable of sliding movement between a standby position and a delivery position. When the solenoid as a driving source stops driving, the interlocking member is located at the standby position, and the interlocking member moves the 1 st stopper member in and moves the 2 nd stopper member out. When the solenoid is driven to move from the standby position to the delivery position, the interlocking member retreats the 1 st stopper member and advances the 2 nd stopper member.

In such a commodity storage rack, when a delivery instruction of a commodity stored in any one of the commodity storage lanes is received, the solenoid corresponding to the commodity storage lane is driven to move the interlocking member from the standby position to the delivery position, and as a result, the 1 st stopper member retreats from the commodity storage path and the 2 nd stopper member advances toward the commodity storage path, whereby the commodity at the most downstream side of the commodity storage path is delivered (for example, see patent document 1).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2012-194797

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In the commodity storage rack proposed in patent document 1, the 1 st stopper member, the 2 nd stopper member, and the interlocking member provided in one commodity storage lane are driven independently of the 1 st stopper member, the 2 nd stopper member, and the interlocking member provided in the other commodity storage lane, and the driving sources are also different.

Therefore, when a plurality of commodity storage lanes are arranged side by side in the left-right direction to form a commodity storage rack, each commodity storage lane requires a drive source, and it is difficult to synchronize the delivery operation of commodities between arbitrary commodity storage lanes.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a commodity storage rack and a commodity storage device capable of synchronizing delivery operations of commodities to be eared between arbitrary commodity storage lanes.

Means for solving the problems

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a commodity storage rack comprising: a plurality of commodity storage lanes for storing commodities in a commodity storage path extending in a straight line, the commodities being aligned in a row along an extending direction of the commodity storage path; and a delivery mechanism provided for each of the commodity storage lanes, the delivery mechanism delivering, from the commodity storage lane, a downstream-most commodity arranged at a downstream-most position among commodities stored in the corresponding commodity storage lanes, the commodity storage lanes being provided side by side, when the delivery mechanism is driven, the commodity storage rack including: a driving force imparting member that imparts a common driving force for operating the respective delivery mechanisms; and a driving force transmission member that transmits the driving force of the driving force applying member only to the corresponding delivery mechanism when a delivery instruction to deliver the commodity stored in an arbitrary commodity storage lane is received.

In the above commodity storage rack, the plurality of commodity storage lanes are configured to store commodities in a row in a commodity storage path extending obliquely so as to gradually become lower from an upstream side toward a downstream side, and the plurality of commodity storage lanes are configured to be capable of changing respective lateral widths, and the delivery mechanism is provided on the downstream side of the commodity storage path and configured to limit, in a standby state, that the commodity stored in the commodity storage path is detached from the commodity storage path, and, on the other hand, the delivery mechanism, when activated, delivers the most downstream commodity from the commodity storage path and is configured to be capable of shifting in the lateral direction.

In the above commodity storage rack, the commodity storage lane may be connected to another commodity storage lane so that the commodity storage path is merged with a commodity storage path of the other commodity storage lane.

In addition, the present invention provides a commodity storage device in which the commodity storage rack is provided with a plurality of stages in the vertical direction, wherein the driving force applying member applies, as the driving force, power supplied from a power source common to other driving force applying members constituting other commodity storage racks.

In the above-described commodity storage device, the discharge mechanism may include a lever member that is swingable so as to advance and retreat with respect to a discharge path through which the commodity discharged from the commodity storage path falls, and the commodity storage device may include a plurality of guide projections provided in a vertical direction on a surface of the discharge path facing the discharge mechanism, the guide projections projecting toward the discharge path, and when the commodity falling on the discharge path abuts against the lever member, the lever member may guide the commodity toward the guide projection directly below the lever member while being swung so as to retreat from the discharge path.

In the commodity storage rack according to the present invention, the delivery mechanism includes: a pair of belt wheels which are arranged in front and back and rotate around the central axis of the belt wheels; and a conveyor belt that is stretched in an endless manner between the pulleys and is displaced in its own extending direction by rotation of the pulleys, wherein an upper extending portion of the conveyor belt between the pulleys constitutes the commodity storage passage, and the commodities are placed and stored in a front-rear direction in an aligned manner, and when a delivery instruction is received, the conveyor belt is displaced by rotation of the pulleys, and the most downstream commodity is delivered.

In addition, the present invention provides a commodity storage device configured such that the commodity storage rack is provided with a plurality of stages in the vertical direction, wherein the driving force applying member applies, as the driving force, power supplied from a power source common to other driving force applying members constituting other commodity storage racks.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, the driving force imparting means imparts a common driving force for operating the respective delivery mechanisms constituting the commodity-accommodating lanes arranged side by side, and when a delivery instruction for a commodity accommodated in an arbitrary commodity-accommodating lane is received, the driving force transmitting means transmits only the driving force of the driving force imparting means to the corresponding delivery mechanism. Further, not only the single dispensing mechanism but also a plurality of dispensing mechanisms can be driven in synchronization. Therefore, the effect of synchronizing the delivery operation of the commodities can be achieved well between arbitrary commodity storage lanes.

Further, according to the present invention, since the plurality of commodity-storing lanes are arranged in the left-right direction and the plurality of commodity-storing lanes are configured to be able to change the respective left-right widths and the delivery mechanism is configured to be able to shift in the left-right direction, the left-right width of the commodity-storing lane can be changed by the size of the stored commodity and the delivery mechanism can be shifted, and it is possible to minimize the open space, store commodities of various sizes, and deliver them. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently store and deliver commodities of various sizes without a gap.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a sectional side view schematically showing the structure of an automatic vending machine to which a commodity storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view schematically showing the commodity housing apparatus shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing 1 commodity storage rack shown in fig. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing 1 commodity storage rack shown in fig. 1 and 2.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the shelf shown in fig. 3 and 4.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the delivery mechanism shown in fig. 3 and 4.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing the delivery mechanism shown in fig. 3 and 4.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the 1-way delivery mechanism shown in fig. 6 and 7.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the 1-way delivery mechanism shown in fig. 6 and 7.

Fig. 10 is a sectional side view showing the 1-way mechanism shown in fig. 6 and 7.

Fig. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing the 1 delivery mechanism shown in fig. 6 and 7.

Fig. 12-1 is a perspective view showing the main body mechanism shown in fig. 8 to 11.

Fig. 12-2 is a perspective view showing the main body mechanism shown in fig. 8 to 11.

Fig. 13-1 is a perspective view showing the lever member shown in fig. 8 to 11.

Fig. 13-2 is a perspective view showing the lever member shown in fig. 8 to 11.

Fig. 14-1 is a perspective view showing the stopper member shown in fig. 8 to 11.

Fig. 14-2 is a perspective view showing the stopper member shown in fig. 8 to 11.

Fig. 15-1 is a perspective view showing the pedal member shown in fig. 8 to 11.

Fig. 15-2 is a perspective view showing the pedal member shown in fig. 8 to 11.

FIG. 16-1 is a perspective view showing a slider constituting the transmission mechanism shown in FIG. 11.

Fig. 16-2 is a perspective view showing a slider constituting the transmission mechanism shown in fig. 11.

Fig. 17-1 is a perspective view showing a dog clutch constituting the transmission mechanism shown in fig. 11.

Fig. 17-2 is a perspective view showing a dog clutch constituting the transmission mechanism shown in fig. 11.

Fig. 18 is a perspective view showing a delivery mechanism in a standby state.

Fig. 19 is a schematic view showing the commodity storage passage in the case where the delivery mechanism is in the standby state.

Fig. 20 is a perspective view of the delivery mechanism showing a state in which the slider slides.

Fig. 21 is a perspective view of the delivery mechanism showing a state in which the slider slides.

Fig. 22 is a perspective view of the delivery mechanism showing a state in which the pedal member has swung upward.

Fig. 23 is a perspective view of the delivery mechanism showing a state in which the pedal member has swung upward.

Fig. 24 is a schematic view showing the commodity storage passage in a case where the pedal member is swung upward.

Fig. 25 is a schematic view showing the commodity storage passage in a case where the pedal member is further swung upward.

Fig. 26 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation of a commodity delivered to a delivery passage.

Fig. 27 is a plan view of the commodity storage rack.

Fig. 28 is a plan view of the commodity storage rack.

Fig. 29 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a modification of the commodity storage rack according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 30 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the commodity storage rack shown in fig. 29.

Fig. 31 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the commodity-housing rack shown in fig. 30.

Fig. 32 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the commodity-housing rack shown in fig. 30.

Fig. 33 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation of the transmission mechanism shown in fig. 30 in a cross section.

Fig. 34 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an operation of the transmission mechanism shown in fig. 30.

Fig. 35 is a perspective view showing a commodity storage device provided with a plurality of commodity storage shelves shown in fig. 29.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of the commodity storage rack and the commodity storage device according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a sectional side view schematically showing the structure of an automatic vending machine to which a commodity storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The vending machine exemplified herein sells a beverage loaded in a container such as a PET bottle, a can, or the like as a commodity, and includes a main body cabinet 1 as a main body of the vending machine.

The main body cabinet 1 is formed by appropriately combining a plurality of metal plates, and has a rectangular parallelepiped shape having an opening (hereinafter, also referred to as a front surface opening) 1a on a front surface. A storage chamber 2 having a heat insulating structure is defined in the main body cabinet 1 so as to face the front opening 1 a.

An outer door 3 and an inner door 4 are provided at a front portion of the main body cabinet 1. The outer door 3 opens and closes a front opening 1a of the main body cabinet 1. The inner door 4 is a door body having a heat insulating structure and opens and closes the front surface of the storage chamber 2.

The housing chamber 2 is provided with a commodity storage device 10 and a commodity chute 5. The commodity storage device 10 is a device that stores commodities and delivers corresponding commodities in response to a delivery instruction (sales instruction), and the commodity storage device 10 will be described in detail later. The commodity chute 5 is provided in a lower region of the commodity storage device 10, and is inclined so as to gradually become lower as it goes from the rear to the front. The commodity chute 5 is a member for guiding the commodities delivered from the commodity storage device 10 to the commodity outlet 3a provided in the outer door 3 via the commodity outlet 4a provided in the inner door 4. The commodity outlet 4a is opened and closed by a commodity outlet door 4b, and the commodity outlet 3a is opened and closed by a commodity outlet door 3 b. The internal atmosphere of the housing chamber 2 is adjusted to a desired temperature by a cooling means and a heating means, not shown.

As shown in fig. 2, the commodity storage device 10 is configured such that a plurality of commodity storage shelves 11 are provided along the vertical direction between a pair of left and right base side plates 10 a.

Fig. 3 and 4 are views showing the 1 article storage rack 11 shown in fig. 1 and 2, respectively, fig. 3 being a perspective view, and fig. 4 being an exploded perspective view. As shown in fig. 3 and 4, the commodity storage rack 11 includes a shelf 12, a partition plate 13, and a delivery mechanism 20.

The shelf 12 is formed by, for example, sheet metal working, and the shelf 12 is provided between the base side plates 10a in an inclined manner so as to gradually become lower from the front toward the rear. As shown in fig. 5, the shelf 12 has shelf side wall portions 12a extending upward at both left and right ends. The shelf plate 12 is formed with a plurality of partition locking holes 12b, which are formed at predetermined intervals of, for example, about 20mm in the left-right direction and have a longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction. A plurality of mechanism locking holes 12c are formed at the rear end of the shelf plate 12 at predetermined intervals in the left-right direction, which are approximately the same as the spacing locking holes 12 b.

The partition plate 13 is a long plate-like member formed by, for example, sheet metal working, and has a longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction. The partition plate 13 is formed with a plurality of locking pieces 13a projecting downward from the lower end of the partition plate 13.

By inserting the locking piece 13a of the partition plate 13 into any of the partition locking holes 12b from above, the partition plate 13 is locked to the shelf plate 12 so as to extend in the front-rear direction on the upper surface of the shelf plate 12. By locking the plurality of partition plates 13 between the shelf side walls 12a of the shelf 12, as shown in fig. 3, a plurality of commodity storage lanes 14 (4 in the illustrated example) can be formed on the upper surface of the shelf 12 so as to be arranged in the left-right direction.

These commodity-accommodating lanes 14 include commodity-accommodating passages 14a extending in an inclined manner so as to gradually decrease from the front, which is the upstream side, toward the rear, which is the downstream side, and accommodate commodities in the commodity-accommodating passages 14a in a horizontal posture in a line.

A plurality of delivery mechanisms 20 (4 in the illustrated example) are provided along the left-right direction. As shown in fig. 6 and 7, the delivery mechanism 20 is inserted through the rotation drive shafts 30, which are long rod-shaped members extending in the left-right direction.

The rotation drive shaft 30 is formed in a polygonal column shape such as a hexagonal column, for example, and a left end portion of the rotation drive shaft 30 is coupled to a center portion of a rotation transmission member 31 having a substantially circular plate shape. The rotation transmission member 31 is provided to be rotatable about its own central axis, and the rotation drive shaft 30 is also rotatable about its own central axis about the central axis, and the rotation transmission member 31 will be described in detail later.

Next, the configuration of the delivery mechanism 20 will be described. In addition, although fig. 6 and 7 show a plurality of delivery mechanisms 20, these delivery mechanisms 20 have a common configuration, and therefore, the configuration of 1 delivery mechanism 20 will be described below, and the description of the other delivery mechanisms 20 will be omitted.

Fig. 8 to 11 are views showing the delivery mechanism 20 shown in fig. 6 and 7, respectively, fig. 8 and 9 are perspective views, fig. 10 is a sectional side view, and fig. 11 is an exploded perspective view. As shown in fig. 8 to 11, the delivery mechanism 20 includes a mechanism main body 21. The mechanism body 21 is a housing made of, for example, a resin material, and houses the lever member 22, the stopper member 23, the step member 24, the transmission mechanism 40, and the sold-out detection portion 25.

The mechanism body 21 as described above includes a body engaging portion 211 and a body penetrating portion 212, as shown in fig. 12-1 and 12-2. In the following, the mechanism main body portion 21, the lever member 22, the stopper member 23, the pedal member 24, and the transmission mechanism 40 will be described in accordance with the directions shown in fig. 8.

The main body engagement portion 211 is a resin spring-like portion that is formed at the distal end portion of the mechanism main body portion 21 and is elastically deformable. The main body engagement portion 211 includes: a locking projection 211a projecting forward; and a pair of left and right locking hooks 211b, the pair of left and right locking hooks 211b protruding forward at a position below the locking projection 211 a. The locking protrusion 211a can be inserted into the mechanism locking hole 12c of the shelf 12, and the locking hook 211b can be engaged with the lower end of the rear end portion of the shelf 12 when the locking protrusion 211a is inserted into any one of the mechanism locking holes 12 c.

The body penetrating portion 212 is formed as a pair of left and right portions at the rear end of the left and right sides of the mechanism body 21. The main body insertion portion 212 is formed with a circular main body insertion hole 212a, the main body insertion hole 212a has an inner diameter slightly larger than the maximum width of the rotation drive shaft 30, and the rotation drive shaft 30 is inserted through the main body insertion hole 212 a.

The lever member 22 is made of, for example, a resin material, and as shown in fig. 13-1 and 13-2, has a lever acting portion 221 and a lever penetrating portion 222. The lever action portion 221 is a substantially flat plate-like portion.

The lever insertion portion 222 is a pair of right and left lever insertion portions formed to protrude forward from both right and left end portions on the front side of the lever action portion 221. The rod insertion portion 222 is formed with a circular rod insertion hole 222a, and the rod insertion hole 222a has an inner diameter slightly larger than the maximum width of the rotary drive shaft 30.

In such a lever member 22, the lever insertion portion 222 is provided inside the main body insertion portion 212 so that the lever action portion 221 protrudes rearward from the mechanism main body portion 21, and the lever member 22 is accommodated in the mechanism main body portion 21 by inserting the rotation drive shaft 30 through the lever insertion hole 222 a. The lever insertion portion 222 is provided with a lever regulating protrusion 222b protruding downward. The lever regulating projection 222b is inserted into a 1 st regulating long hole 213 (see fig. 9) formed in a lower portion of the rear end of the mechanism body 21 from above. The 1 st restriction long hole 213 is a hole portion whose longitudinal direction is the front-rear direction. Thereby, the lever member 22 can swing around the center axis of the rotation drive shaft 30 within a range in which the lever regulation protrusion 222b abuts against the front edge portion and the rear edge portion of the 1 st regulation long hole 213.

The stopper member 23 is made of, for example, a resin material, and as shown in fig. 14-1 and 14-2, has a stopper action portion 231, a stopper arm portion 232, and a stopper penetrating portion 233. The stopper operating portion 231 is a portion extending in the left-right direction, and a stopper operating surface 231a is formed at the front end of the stopper operating portion 231. Further, a pedestal portion 231b slightly recessed from the upper surface of the stopper operating portion 231 is formed at the rear end portion of the stopper operating portion 231. The stopper arm portions 232 are a pair of left and right portions extending rearward from both left and right end portions of the stopper action portion 231.

The stopper penetrating portion 233 is a pair of left and right stopper penetrating portions formed to protrude rearward from the rear end portion of the stopper arm portion 232. A circular stopper through hole 233a is formed in the stopper penetrating portion 233, and the circular stopper through hole 233a has an inner diameter slightly larger than the maximum width of the rotary drive shaft 30.

In the stopper member 23, the stopper penetrating portions 233 are provided inside the lever penetrating portions 222 so that the stopper acting portions 231 are inserted from above into the stopper openings 214 formed in the mechanism main body portion 21, and the stopper member 23 is accommodated in the mechanism main body portion 21 by inserting the rotation drive shaft 30 through the stopper through holes 233 a. In addition, the stopper penetrating portion 233 is provided with a stopper restricting projection 233b projecting downward. The stopper limit projection 233b is inserted into a 2 nd limit long hole 215 (see fig. 9) formed in a lower portion of the rear end of the mechanism body 21 from above. The 2 nd restriction long hole 215 is a hole portion whose longitudinal direction is the front-rear direction. Thereby, the stopper member 23 can swing around the center axis of the rotation drive shaft 30 within a range where the stopper limit projection 233b abuts against the front edge portion and the rear edge portion of the 2 nd limit long hole 215.

Further, a spring member 26 is provided between the stopper member 23 and the lever member 22. The spring member 26 biases the stopper member 23 upward in a direction in which the stopper restricting projection 233b abuts against the front edge portion of the 2 nd restricting long hole 215. The spring member 26 biases the lever member 22 upward in a direction in which the lever regulation projection 222b abuts against the rear edge portion of the 1 st regulation long hole 213.

The pedal member 24 is made of, for example, a resin material, and as shown in fig. 15-1 and 15-2, has a pedal base portion 241, a pedal main body portion 242, and a pedal acting portion 243. The pedal base portion 241 is a cylindrical portion whose longitudinal direction is the left-right direction, and a circular pedal through hole 241a is formed, and the pedal through hole 241a has an inner diameter slightly larger than the maximum width of the rotation drive shaft 30. Further, a central region in the left-right direction of the pedal base portion 241 is cut out to form an insertion portion 241b, and a plurality of transmission concave portions 241c are formed in an arc-shaped array at a left side portion of the insertion portion 241 b.

The pedal body portion 242 is a substantially flat plate-shaped portion extending from the pedal base portion 241 toward the radially outer portion of the pedal through hole 241a, i.e., toward the front. A pedal hook portion 242a is formed on a lower surface of the pedal body portion 242 so as to protrude downward.

The pedal acting portion 243 is a flat plate-shaped portion formed to extend from the pedal base portion 241 toward the radially outer portion of the pedal through hole 241 a. The pedal acting portion 243 is formed to have a lateral width larger than the lateral width of the pedal base portion 241 and the lateral width of the pedal body portion 242.

The rotation drive shaft 30 is inserted into the pedal insertion hole 241a of the pedal base 241 between the stopper insertion portions 233 of the stopper member 23, whereby the pedal member 24 is accommodated in the mechanism main body portion 21. That is, the pedal member 24 is housed in the mechanism body 21 so as to be swingable about the center axis of the rotation drive shaft 30.

The transmission mechanism 40 includes a clutch motor 41, a slider 42, and a dog clutch 43. The clutch motor 41 is held by a motor holding portion 216 (see fig. 9 and 12-2) of the mechanism main body portion 21, is housed in the mechanism main body portion 21, and is driven in the normal rotation or the reverse rotation in accordance with a command received from the control portion 60 (see fig. 1) via the harness 44 (see fig. 11).

The slider 42 is made of, for example, a resin material, and is provided to the mechanism main body 21 so as to be slidable in the left-right direction. As shown in fig. 16-1 and 16-2, such a slider 42 has a slider body portion 421 and a slider holding portion 422.

The slider body 421 is formed by forming a cutout in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped, and includes a motor engaging portion 421a and a hook engaging portion 421 b. The motor engaging portion 421a is a portion having a female screw formed therein and engaged with the clutch motor 41 by being screwed with the male screw 411 connected to the clutch motor 41. Thus, when the clutch motor 41 is driven in the normal direction and the male screw 411 is rotated in one direction, the slider 42 slides in the left direction so as to approach the clutch motor 41, and when the clutch motor 41 is driven in the reverse direction and the male screw 411 is rotated in the other direction, the slider 42 slides in the right direction so as to be away from the clutch motor 41.

The hook engaging portion 421b is a flat plate-shaped portion configured as an opening edge portion of the slider concave portion 423, and the opening edge portion of the slider concave portion 423 is formed at an upper portion on the right side of the motor engaging portion 421 a. When the pedal hook portion 242a enters the slider concave portion 423, the hook engagement portion 421b can be engaged with the pedal hook portion 242 a.

The slider holding portion 422 is provided at the rear end of a flat plate projecting rearward from the slider body portion 421. The slider holding portion 422 has a cylindrical shape formed by forming a holding hole 422a therein.

The dog clutch 43 is made of, for example, a resin material, and as shown in fig. 17-1 and 17-2, includes a clutch base 431, a clutch engagement portion 432, and a clutch transmission portion 433. The clutch base 431 is a cylindrical portion, and the outer diameter of the clutch base 431 is larger than the inner diameter of the holding hole 422a of the slider holding portion 422.

The clutch engagement portion 432 is a cylindrical portion formed to protrude rightward from the right end surface of the clutch base 431. A hexagonal coupling hole 434 that matches the outer shape of the rotary drive shaft 30 is formed in both the clutch base 431 and the clutch engagement portion 432. The outer diameter of the clutch engaging portion 432 is smaller than the outer diameter of the clutch base 431 and slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the holding hole 422a of the slider holding portion 422. The clutch engaging portion 432 has a greater length extending in the left-right direction than the slider holding portion 422, and a clutch hook portion 432a is formed at the right end portion of the clutch engaging portion 432.

The clutch transmission portion 433 is a portion extending in an arc shape in a part of the outer end surface of the clutch base portion 431. A transmission convex portion 433a is formed on the left surface of the clutch transmission portion 433 so as to protrude leftward and be aligned in an arc shape. These transmission convex portions 433a can enter the transmission concave portions 241 c.

The dog clutch 43 is rotatably held by the slider 42 by the clutch engaging portion 432 entering the holding hole 422a of the slider holding portion 422 from the left side and the clutch hook portion 432a being locked to the right end portion of the slider holding portion 422. Then, the dog clutch 43 is accommodated in the mechanism main body portion 21 by inserting the rotary drive shaft 30 through the coupling hole 434 in a state where the dog clutch 43 is inserted into the insertion portion 241b of the pedal base portion 241 of the pedal member 24.

The sold-out detection portion 25 (see fig. 8) is telescopically accommodated in the mechanism main body portion 21 in a manner such that the sold-out contact 251 extends upward from an arm opening 232a formed in the stopper arm portion 232 on the right side of the stopper member 23. The sold-out detection portion 25 detects the presence of a product when the sold-out contact 251 is pressed and disposed below the arm opening 232a, whereas the sold-out detection portion 25 detects the absence of a product when the sold-out contact 251 is disposed above the arm opening 232 a. The sold-out detecting unit 25 supplies the detection result to the control unit 60 as a detection signal.

The delivery mechanism 20 having such a configuration is attached to the shelf panel 12 by inserting the locking projection 211a of the body engaging portion 211 constituting the mechanism body portion 21 into any mechanism locking hole 12c of the shelf panel 12 and locking the locking hook portion 211b to the lower edge portion of the rear end portion of the shelf panel 12, and the delivery mechanism 20 is provided on the downstream side of the commodity storage passage 14a of the commodity storage lane 14.

In the standby state of the delivery mechanism 20 as shown in fig. 8 to 10, the slider 42 is disposed at a position spaced apart from the clutch motor 41, and the pedal hook portion 242a of the pedal member 24 enters the slider recess 423 and is locked to the hook locking portion 421 b. Therefore, the pedal action portion 243 protrudes upward from the mechanism body 21, and the pedal member 24 enters and moves into the commodity storage passage 14 a. Further, since the slider 42 is disposed at a position spaced apart from the clutch motor 41, the dog clutch 43 and the pedal member 24 held by the slider holding portion 422 are spaced apart from each other as shown in fig. 18.

Further, the stopper member 23 swings downward against the biasing force of the spring member 26 as the seat portion 231b is pressed by the pedal body portion 242 of the pedal member 24, and the stopper acting portion 231 enters the stopper opening 214 from above, whereby the stopper member 23 is moved out of the commodity storing passage 14 a. Thus, the stopper acting portion 231, the stopper arm portion 232, and the pedal body portion 242 of the stopper member 23 have upper surfaces that are flush with the upper surface of the mechanism body portion 21.

Further, since only the biasing force of the spring member 26 acts on the lever member 22, the lever member 22 assumes a posture of being swung upward until the lever regulation projection 222b abuts against the rear edge portion of the 1 st regulation long hole 213, and as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the lever member 22 enters and moves into the delivery passage 50 provided on the rear side of the commodity-accommodating shelf 11 and extending in the vertical direction.

The base back plate 10b of the commodity-housing device 10, which constitutes the back surface of the delivery passage 50, is provided with a plurality of guide projections 51 projecting toward the delivery passage 50. The guide projections 51 are provided to extend in the left-right direction at a portion below the height level of the delivery mechanism 20 of each commodity storage rack 11, and more specifically, in vertically adjacent commodity storage racks 11, the guide projections 51 are provided at a height level intermediate between the height level of the delivery mechanism 20 of the upper commodity storage rack 11 and the height level of the delivery mechanism 20 of the lower commodity storage rack 11.

As shown in fig. 2, the rotation transmission member 31 connected to the rotation drive shaft 30 is engaged with a part of the transmission umbilical member 32 whose outer end surface is annularly connected. A part of the transfer cable body 32 is engaged with a drive pulley 33, and the transfer cable body 32 is displaced in its extending direction by the drive pulley 33 rotating about the center axis by a drive motor 34. That is, the transmission umbilical member 32 is displaced in accordance with the rotation of the drive pulley 33, and as a result, the rotation transmission member 31 also rotates about its own central axis, and the rotation drive shaft 30 also rotates about its own central axis. The drive motor 34 is driven in the normal direction or in the reverse direction in accordance with a command received from the electrically connected control unit 60. The control unit 60 can detect the rotation angle of the rotation transmitting member 31 based on a detection result received from a rotation detecting unit (not shown) such as an encoder provided in the vicinity of each rotation transmitting member 31.

Next, the delivery operation of the commodity by the commodity-housing device 10 will be described. For convenience of description, the following description will be made by exemplifying 1 commodity storage lane 14.

When the delivery mechanism 20 is in the standby state, as described above, only the pedal member 24 enters the state of moving into the commodity-accommodating passage 14a, and therefore, as shown in fig. 19, the pedal acting portion 243 comes into contact with the commodity W1 on the most downstream side of the commodity-accommodating passage 14 a. As a result, the commodities in the commodity-accommodating lane 14 are accommodated in a row along the commodity-accommodating passage 14a, and are restricted from being separated from the commodity-accommodating passage 14 a.

The control unit 60, which receives a delivery instruction for delivering the commodity stored in the commodity storage lane 14 from a vending machine control unit (not shown) that controls the operation of the vending machine collectively by the user selecting the commodity, drives the clutch motor 41 of the delivery mechanism 20 provided on the rear side of the commodity storage lane 14 in the normal direction. As a result, the male screw 411 rotates in one direction, and the slider 42 slides in the left direction as approaching the clutch motor 41, as shown in fig. 20. By the sliding of the slider 42 in the left direction in this way, the dog clutch 43 held by the slider 42 also slides in the left direction. As a result, as shown in fig. 21, the transmission convex portions 433a enter the transmission concave portions 241c of the pedal member 24, and the dog clutch 43 is coupled to the pedal member 24. Further, the slider 42 slides leftward, and the locked state between the hook locking portion 421b and the pedal hook portion 242a is released.

When the dog clutch 43 and the pedal member 24 are thus coupled, the control section 60 drives the drive motor 34 in the normal direction. As a result, the drive pulley 33 rotates clockwise as viewed from the right, and the transmission umbilical member 32 is displaced, whereby the rotation transmission member 31 also rotates clockwise as viewed from the right.

By the rotation of the rotation transmitting member 31 in this manner, the rotary drive shaft 30 also rotates about the center axis in a clockwise direction as viewed from the right. By the rotation of the rotation drive shaft 30 in this manner, the dog clutch 43 that is mated with the rotation drive shaft 30 is also rotated in the clockwise direction as viewed from the right. Then, the pedal member 24 coupled to the dog clutch 43 swings rearward as shown in fig. 22.

When the pedal member 24 swings backward with respect to the stopper member 23 with the pedestal portion 231b pressed by the pedal body portion 242 of the pedal member 24, the pressing of the stopper member 23 by the pedal member 24 is released, and as shown in fig. 23, the stopper limiting projection 233b swings upward to abut against the front edge portion of the 2 nd limiting long hole 215, and the stopper acting portion 231 projects upward from the stopper opening 214, so that the stopper member 23 enters and moves into the commodity storing passage 14 a.

As the stopper member 23 enters and moves into the commodity-accommodating passage 14a in this manner, as shown in fig. 24, the stopper-acting surface 231a of the stopper-acting portion 231 abuts on the 2 nd commodity W2 from the downstream side in the commodity-accommodating passage 14a, and the movement of the commodity W2 toward the downstream side of the commodity-accommodating passage 14a is restricted. That is, only the most downstream commercial product W1 can be separated from the other commercial products.

Then, the rotation of the rotation transmission member 31 accompanying the driving of the drive motor 34 maintains the rotation of the rotation drive shaft 30, and the pedal member 24 coupled to the dog clutch 43 rotated by the rotation of the rotation drive shaft 30 continues to swing rearward.

Then, when it is detected as the rotation angle of the rotation transmitting member 31 as shown in fig. 25 that the pedal member 24 has swung rearward to a posture in which the downstream-most commodity W1 can be delivered to the delivery path 50, based on the detection result of the rotation detecting unit, the control unit 60 temporarily stops the driving of the drive motor 34.

Thereby, the most downstream commodity W1 is delivered into the delivery passage 50 and abuts against the lever member 22. The lever member 22 swings downward in a state of retreating from the delivery path 50 against the biasing force of the spring member 26, and guides the commodity in contact to the guide projection 51 directly below. As shown in fig. 26, the commodity guided to the guide projection 51 immediately below comes into contact with the guide projection 51, and then comes into contact with the rod member 22 of any one of the delivery mechanisms 20 constituting the commodity storage shelves 11 below the commodity storage shelf 11 having the commodity storage lane 14 and is guided to the guide projection 51 immediately below the rod member 22, whereby the commodity drops in a meandering manner in the delivery passage 50. The commodities falling in a meandering manner in the delivery passage 50 then roll in the commodity chute 5, and are guided to the commodity outlet 3a via the commodity outlet 4 a.

Further, when the guide projection 51 comes into contact with the commodity W1 dropped on the delivery passage 50, it is preferable that the commodity W1 be guided to the vicinity of the rod insertion portion 222 of the rod member 22 immediately below the guide projection. The falling speed of the commodity W1 can be effectively attenuated as the reaction force (urging force) of the spring member 26 urging the lever member 22 increases closer to the lever insertion portion 222 side through which the rotation drive shaft 30 serving as the swing shaft of the lever member 22 is inserted.

In order to more effectively attenuate the impact of the commodity W1 falling down on the commodity chute 5, the guide projection 51 is preferably formed such that the projection height of the guide projection 51 disposed on the upper side of the delivery passage 50 toward the delivery passage 50 is larger, and the projection height of the guide projection 51 disposed on the lower side of the delivery passage 50 toward the delivery passage 50 is smaller.

Further, the control unit 60, which has temporarily stopped the drive motor 34, drives the drive motor 34 in reverse. By the drive motor 34 being driven in reverse in this way, the drive pulley 33 rotates counterclockwise as viewed from the right, the transmission umbilical member 32 is displaced, and the rotation transmission member 31 also rotates counterclockwise as viewed from the right. By the rotation of the rotation transmission member 31 in this manner, the rotation drive shaft 30 also rotates about the center axis in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from the right. When the rotary drive shaft 30 rotates, the dog clutch 43 engaged with the rotary drive shaft 30 also rotates counterclockwise as viewed from the right, and the pedal member 24 coupled to the dog clutch 43 swings forward.

When the pedal member 24 swings forward with the stopper member 23 with the pedestal portion 231b pressed by the pedal body portion 242 of the pedal member 24, the stopper member 23 swings downward against the urging force of the spring member 26, and then the stopper acting portion 231 enters the stopper opening 214, and is moved out of the commodity storage passage 14a, and as a result, the pedal member 24 returns to the standby state. At this time, the pedal hook 242a of the pedal member 24 enters the slider recess 423 of the slider 42.

When the pedal member 24 is returned to the standby state in this way, the control unit 60 drives the clutch motor 41 in reverse, slides the slider 42 in the right direction, and is disposed at a position away from the clutch motor 41. As a result, the hook portion 421b of the slider 42 and the pedal hook portion 242a are locked, and even if a product newly arriving at the most downstream comes into contact with the pedal acting portion 243, the swing of the pedal member 24 is restricted, and the product is stored in the product storage passage 14 a.

Further, since all the rotation transmitting members 31 are interlocked with the drive pulley 33 via the transmission umbilical member 32, the rotation transmitting members 31 are rotated by the drive of the drive motor 34. Therefore, all the rotary drive shafts 30 rotate. When the rotary drive shaft 30 is thus rotated, the dog clutch 43 is also rotated, but in the delivery mechanism 20 other than the delivery mechanism 20 described above, the state in which the pedal hook portion 242a of the pedal member 24 is locked to the hook locking portion 421b is maintained, and the dog clutch 43 and the pedal member 24 are not coupled, so that the standby state of the delivery mechanism 20 can be maintained, and no commodity is delivered from the other commodity-accommodating lane 14.

In the commodity storage rack 11 as described above, since the commodity storage lane 14 is configured by forming the plurality of partition locking holes 12b at predetermined intervals in the left-right direction in the shelf plate 12 and inserting the locking piece 13a of the partition plate 13 into any of the partition locking holes 12b to lock the partition plate 13 to the shelf plate 12, the left-right width of the commodity storage lane 14 can be changed by changing the position of the partition locking hole 12b into which the locking piece 13a of the partition plate 13 is inserted. Further, since the delivery mechanism 20 can be displaced in the left-right direction in a state of being penetrated by the rotary drive shaft 30, the delivery mechanism 20 can be provided on the downstream side of the commodity storage passage 14a constituting an arbitrary commodity storage lane 14.

Therefore, according to the above-described commodity storage rack 11, since the plurality of commodity storage lanes 14 are arranged in the left-right direction, the left-right width of each commodity storage lane 14 of the plurality of commodity storage lanes 14 can be changed, and the delivery mechanism 20 is displaceable in the left-right direction, commodities having various sizes can be stored and delivered.

In the above-described commodity storage rack 11, since the commodity storage lanes 14 are configured by inserting the locking pieces 13a of the partition plates 13 into the arbitrary partition locking holes 12b of the shelf plates 12 and locking the partition plates 13 to the shelf plates 12, by removing the partition plate 13 disposed at the center in a state where 4 commodity storage lanes 14 are arranged in the left-right direction as shown in fig. 27, the commodity storage paths 14a of one commodity storage lane 14 and the commodity storage paths 14a of the other commodity storage lane 14 adjacent to each other can be merged and connected as shown in fig. 28, and 3 commodity storage lanes 14 can be arranged in the left-right direction. In this case, the commodity W3 having a commodity height larger than that of the commodities W stored in the other commodity storage lane 14 can be stored in the connected new commodity storage lane 14, and commodities having various sizes can be stored and delivered while minimizing the empty space. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently store and deliver commodities having various sizes without a gap.

In the commodity storage rack 11, the rotation transmission member 31 and the rotation drive shaft 30 constitute a drive force applying member that applies a common drive force to the delivery mechanisms 20 to operate the delivery mechanisms 20, and the transmission mechanism 40 constitutes a drive force transmitting member that transmits the drive force of the drive force applying member only to the corresponding delivery mechanism 20. According to the commodity storage rack 11, the drive force sources of the respective delivery mechanisms 20 constituting the commodity storage rack 11 can be shared, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced by reducing the number of components. Further, depending on the number of drives of the transfer mechanism 40, in the same commodity storage rack 11, not only the single delivery mechanism 20 but also the plurality of delivery mechanisms 20 can be driven in synchronization, and commodities can be delivered from the plurality of commodity storage lanes 14 at the same time, and in the case where a plurality of delivery mechanisms 20 are provided for 1 commodity storage lane 14, the delivery mechanisms 20 can be driven in synchronization, and commodities stored in the commodity storage lanes 14 can be delivered well. Therefore, good synchronization of the delivery operation of the commodities can be achieved between arbitrary commodity-accommodating lanes 14.

According to the above-described commodity storage device 10, since the rotation transmission members 31 provided corresponding to the respective commodity storage shelves 11 are rotated by the drive of the drive motors 34 as the common power source, the power source is unified, and the number of components can be reduced to reduce the manufacturing cost.

According to the above-described commodity storage device 10, the plurality of guide projections 51 projecting forward toward the commodity storage shelves 11 are provided on the base back surface plate 10b constituting the delivery passage 50 through which the commodity delivered by the delivery mechanism 20 falls below the height level of the delivery mechanism 20 of each commodity storage shelf 11, and the lever member 22 of the delivery mechanism 20 abuts the commodity falling in the delivery passage 50 and guides the commodity to the guide projection 51 directly below the commodity, so that the commodity can fall in the delivery passage 50 while meandering. This can prevent the container of the product from being damaged, and can suppress foaming of the beverage and foaming when the product is a strong carbonated beverage containing a large amount of carbonic acid.

Next, a modification of the commodity storage rack will be described. Fig. 29 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a modification of the commodity storage rack according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The commodity storage rack 70 illustrated here is configured such that a plurality of commodity storage lanes 70a are arranged side by side in a left-right arrangement. Since the plurality of commodity-accommodating lanes 70a constituting the commodity-accommodating shelf 70 have the same configuration, 1 commodity-accommodating lane 70a will be described below.

The commodity storage lane 70a includes a delivery mechanism 80. The delivery mechanism 80 is configured by annularly extending a conveyor belt 82 between pulleys 81 disposed in a pair in front and rear.

As shown in fig. 30 to 32, the front pulley 81a is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the hollow portion 811 is penetrated by the rotary drive shaft 71. The rotation drive shaft 71 has a polygonal column shape such as a hexagonal column, for example, and a right end portion thereof is coupled to a center portion of a rotation transmission member 72 having a substantially circular plate shape. The rotation transmission member 72 is interlocked with a drive motor 73 as a drive source, and can rotate around its central axis by being given a drive force from the drive motor 73. Thereby, the rotation driving shaft 71 can also rotate around its center axis. The rear pulley 81 is provided to be rotatable about the axis of the rotation shaft 74 extending in the left-right direction.

The belt 82 is displaced in its extending direction by the rotation of the pulleys 81, and specifically, the upper extending portion 82a between the pulleys 81 is displaced so as to move forward. The upper extending portion 82a is a portion on which commodities are placed, and forms the commodity storage passage 75 linearly extending in the front-rear direction.

The delivery mechanism 80 is provided with a transmission mechanism 90. The transmission mechanism 90 includes a clutch motor 91, a slider 92, and a dog clutch 93. The clutch motor 91 is housed in the mechanism main body portion 90a, a through hole 90b formed in the mechanism main body portion 90a itself is penetrated by the rotation drive shaft 71, and the clutch motor 91 is driven in the normal rotation or the reverse rotation in accordance with a command received from a control portion not shown.

The slider 92 is made of, for example, a resin material, and the slider 92 is provided to the mechanism main body portion 90a so as to be slidable in the left-right direction. The slider 92 includes a motor engagement portion 921 and a slider holding portion 922.

The motor engagement portion 921 has a female screw (not shown) formed therein, and is a portion that is engaged with the clutch motor 91 by being screwed to a male screw 91b that is interlocked with the output shaft 91a of the clutch motor 91. Accordingly, when the clutch motor 91 is driven in the normal direction and the male screw 91b is rotated in one direction, the slider 92 slides in the right direction so as to approach the clutch motor 91, and when the clutch motor 91 is driven in the reverse direction and the male screw 91b is rotated in the other direction, the slider 92 slides in the left direction so as to be spaced apart from the clutch motor 91.

The slider holding portion 922 is provided at the tip of the portion of the slider 92 that projects forward from the main body portion. The slider holding portion 922 has a cylindrical shape with a holding hole 922a formed therein.

The dog clutch 93 is made of, for example, a resin material, and includes a clutch base 931 and a clutch engagement portion 932. The clutch base 931 is a cylindrical portion, and has an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the holding hole 922a of the slider holding portion 922.

The clutch engagement unit 932 is a cylindrical portion formed to protrude leftward from the left end surface of the clutch base 931. A hexagonal coupling hole 933 matching the outer shape of the rotary drive shaft 71 is formed in the clutch base 931 and the clutch engagement portion 932. The outer diameter of the clutch engagement portion 932 is smaller than the outer diameter of the clutch base 931 and slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the retaining hole 922a of the slider retaining portion 922. The clutch engaging portion 932 is formed to have a longer length in the left-right direction than the slider holding portion 922.

The clutch base 931 is provided with a plurality of transmission protrusions 931a on the right surface. These transmission protrusions 931a are formed in a circumferential array so as to protrude rightward from the right surface of the clutch base 931, respectively. These transmission protrusions 931a can enter the transmission recesses 811a of the pulleys 81a formed on the front side.

In such a dog clutch 93, the clutch engagement portion 932 is inserted into the holding hole 922a of the slider holding portion 922 from the right, and the dog clutch 93 is rotatably held by the slider 92.

In the commodity storage rack 70 having such a configuration, commodities can be delivered from an arbitrary commodity storage lane 70a as follows. On the other hand, as a premise, the drive motor 73 is driven, and thereby the rotary drive shaft 71 rotates counterclockwise as viewed from the right. The slider 92 slides leftward while being separated from the clutch motor 91.

The dog clutch 93 rotates when the rotary drive shaft 71 rotates, but the slider 92 slides to the left, and therefore, as shown in fig. 33, the dog clutch 93 and the front pulley 81a are disengaged, and the front pulley 81a does not rotate. In this state, the conveyor belt 82 is not displaced, and the commodity is placed only on the upper extending portion 82 a.

When a delivery command for a commodity stored in any of the commodity storage lanes 70a is received, the control unit drives the corresponding clutch motor 91 in the normal direction. As a result, the male screw 91b rotates in one direction, and the slider 92 slides rightward as approaching the clutch motor 91 as shown in fig. 34. By the sliding of the slider 92 in the right direction in this way, the dog clutch 93 held by the slider 92 also slides in the right direction. As a result, the transmission protrusions 931a enter the transmission recesses 811a of the front pulley 81a, and the dog clutch 93 is coupled to the front pulley 81 a.

When the dog clutch 93 and the front pulley 81a are coupled in this manner, the driving force of the drive motor 73 is applied to the front pulley 81a via the rotary drive shaft 71 and the dog clutch 93, and the front pulley 81a rotates counterclockwise as viewed from the right, thereby displacing the conveyor belt 82. That is, the conveyor belt 82 is displaced in such a manner that the upper extending portion 82a moves forward. As a result, the commodity located furthest downstream from the furthest downstream side of the upper extending portion 82a, which is the furthest downstream side, moves forward and exits from the commodity-accommodating passage 75.

After the commodity on the most downstream side is delivered, the control unit drives the clutch motor 91 in reverse. Thereby, the male screw 91b rotates in the other direction, and the slider 92 slides in the left direction so as to be separated from the clutch motor 91 as shown in fig. 33. By the sliding of the slider 92 in the left direction in this way, the dog clutch 93 held by the slider 92 also slides in the left direction. As a result, the transmission convex portions 931a disengage from the transmission concave portions 811a, and the coupling between the dog clutch 93 and the front pulley 81a is released. When the coupling between the dog clutch 93 and the front pulley 81a is thus released, the front pulley 81a stops rotating, and the displacement of the conveyor belt 82 stops.

In the commodity storage rack 70 as described above, the rotation transmission member 72 and the rotation drive shaft 71 constitute a drive force applying member that applies a common drive force for operating the delivery mechanisms 80 to the delivery mechanisms 80, and the transmission mechanism 90 constitutes a drive force transmitting member that transmits the drive force of the drive force applying member only to the corresponding delivery mechanism 80. According to the commodity storage rack 70, the drive force sources of the respective delivery mechanisms 80 constituting the commodity storage rack 70 can be shared, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced by reducing the number of components. Further, depending on the number of drives of the transfer mechanism 90, it is possible to drive not only the single delivery mechanism 80 but also the plurality of delivery mechanisms 80 in synchronization in the same commodity storage rack 70, and to deliver commodities from the plurality of commodity storage lanes 70a at the same time. Therefore, good synchronization of the delivery operation of the commodity can be achieved between the arbitrary commodity-accommodating lanes 70 a.

In this way, since the delivery operation of the commodity can be synchronized between any of the commodity-accommodating lanes 70a, the delivery operation can be synchronized also between mutually adjacent commodity-accommodating lanes 70a, and in this case, the commodity such as a box lunch can be placed so as to straddle adjacent commodity-accommodating passages 75, and the commodity can be delivered satisfactorily.

In the commodity storage device 100 in which the plurality of commodity storage shelves 70 are vertically provided, as shown in fig. 35, the rotation transmission members 72 are interlocked with each other by the transmission cable body 76, so that the drive motor 73 can be a common power source for the drive force applying means (the rotation transmission members 72 and the rotation drive shaft 71) of each commodity storage shelf 70. That is, the driving force applying member can apply, as the driving force, the driving force supplied from the power source common to the other driving force applying members constituting the other commodity-accommodating shelves 70.

Therefore, according to the commodity storage device 100, the rotation transmission members 72 provided corresponding to the respective commodity storage shelves 70 are rotated by driving the motor 73 serving as a common power source, and therefore, the power source is unified, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced by reducing the number of components.

The preferred embodiment and the modified examples of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made.

In the above embodiment, the rotation transmitting members 31, 72 are driven by the common drive motors 34, 73 via the transmission umbilical members 32, 76, but in the present invention, each rotation transmitting member may be driven individually.

In the above-described embodiment, the clutch motors 41 and 91 constituting the transmission mechanisms 40 and 90 are driven in the normal rotation or reverse rotation to slide the sliders 42 and 92, but the driver for sliding the sliders 42 and 92 is not necessarily limited to the clutch motors 41 and 91, and may be, for example, a solenoid or the like.

In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the commodity storage device 10 is applied to the vending machine is shown, but in the present invention, the commodity storage device may be applied to a showcase.

Description of the reference numerals

10. A commodity storage device; 11. a commodity storage rack; 12. a shelf; 13. a partition plate; 14. a commodity storage lane; 14a, a commodity storage passage; 20. a hand-off mechanism; 21. a mechanism main body portion; 22. a lever member; 23. a stopper member; 24. a pedal member; 25. a sold-out detection part; 30. a rotary drive shaft; 31. a rotation transmitting member; 33. a drive pulley; 34. a drive motor; 40. a transfer mechanism; 50. giving out the passage; 51. a guide protrusion; 60. a control unit.

Claims (7)

1. A merchandise storage rack, comprising:

a plurality of commodity storage lanes for storing commodities in a commodity storage path extending in a straight line, the commodities being aligned in a row along an extending direction of the commodity storage path; and

a hand-over mechanism provided for each of the commodity-accommodating lanes, the hand-over mechanism hands over, from the commodity-accommodating path, a downstream-most commodity disposed at a downstream-most position among commodities accommodated in the corresponding commodity-accommodating paths when driven,

the commodity storage channels are arranged side by side,

the commodity storage rack is characterized in that,

this commodity storage rack includes:

a driving force imparting member that imparts a common driving force for operating the respective delivery mechanisms; and

and a driving force transmission member that transmits the driving force of the driving force applying member only to the corresponding delivery mechanism when a delivery instruction to deliver the commodity stored in an arbitrary commodity storage lane is received.

2. The merchandise storage rack of claim 1,

the plurality of commodity-accommodating lanes are configured to accommodate commodities in a row in a commodity-accommodating passage extending obliquely in a gradually decreasing manner from an upstream side to a downstream side, and the left and right widths of the plurality of commodity-accommodating lanes can be changed,

the delivery mechanism is provided on a downstream side of the commodity storage path, and restricts, in a standby state, the commodity stored in the commodity storage path from being separated from the commodity storage path, and, when the delivery mechanism is operated, the delivery mechanism delivers the downstream-most commodity from the commodity storage path so as to be displaceable in the left-right direction.

3. The merchandise storage rack of claim 2,

the commodity storage lane is configured such that the commodity storage passage can be connected to a commodity storage passage of another commodity storage lane by being combined with the commodity storage passage.

4. A commodity storage device in which a plurality of commodity storage shelves according to claim 1 are vertically arranged, characterized in that,

the driving force applying member applies, as the driving force, power supplied from a power source common to other driving force applying members constituting other commodity storage shelves.

5. The merchandise receiving device of claim 4,

the dispensing mechanism includes a lever member that is swingable in a state of moving forward and backward with respect to a dispensing passage through which the commodity dispensed from the commodity storage passage falls,

the commodity storage device comprises a plurality of guide protrusions which are arranged along the vertical direction and protrude towards the delivery passage on the surface which forms the delivery passage and is opposite to the delivery mechanism,

when the commodity dropped on the delivery path abuts on the lever member, the lever member swings in a state of retreating from the delivery path, and guides the commodity to the guide projection directly below the lever member.

6. The merchandise storage rack of claim 1,

the handing-off mechanism comprises:

a pair of belt wheels which are arranged in front and back and rotate around the central axis of the belt wheels; and

a conveyor belt which is annularly stretched between the belt pulleys and is displaced in its extending direction by rotation of the belt pulleys,

the upper extending portion of the conveyor belt between the pulleys constitutes the commodity storage path, and the commodity is placed and stored in a front-rear direction, and when a delivery instruction is received, the conveyor belt is displaced by rotating the pulleys, and the most downstream commodity is delivered.

7. A commodity storage device in which the commodity storage rack according to claim 6 is provided in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction,

the driving force applying member applies, as the driving force, power supplied from a power source common to other driving force applying members constituting other commodity storage shelves.

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